Wire-feeding device



M P m e h S 3 R E G N A R G W;

7 (No Model.)

WIRE FEEDING DEVIGE.

No. 562,222. Patented June 16, 1896.

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No. 562,222; Patented June 16, 1896.

DREW EGRIHAMHUTO'UTkQWASHINGTD N DC (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. w. GRANGER. WIRE FEEDING DEVICE.

No. 562,222. Patented June 16, 1896.

FIG. 0'.

WITNESSES:

ANDREW EGRAHAM.PNOTO-UVNOWASHINGTUN DC I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN XVM. GRANGER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

WIRE-FEEDING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 562,222, dated June 16,1896.

Application filed March 16 1896. Serial No. 583 ,315. (No model.)

To all 1071 0112 it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN VILLIAM GRAN- GER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, in the State ofPennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements inWVire-Feeding Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to machines for forming articles ofcommerce, such as hair-pins, hooks and eyes, and the like, of wire; andit relates especially to devices for automatically feeding wire suppliedfrom a roll or other suitable source to the forming or shapinginstrumentalities proper.

It is the object of my invention to provide a wire-feeding mechanismwhich shall be more simple in construct-ion and more certain inoperation and less liable to get out of or der than such mechanism asheretofore arranged.

My improved wire-feeding mechanism relates to that class of wire-feedsin which the wire is intermittently fed to the shaping or forminginstrumentalities, a given quantity of the wire being, at each forwardstroke of the mechanism, delivered to the shaping or forminginstrumentalities, and the mechanism in its succeeding rearward movementtaking a fresh hold upon the wire, in order to again advance it apredetermined length in its succeeding forward movement.

Apparatus embodying a good form of a convenient embodiment of myinvention is represented in the accompanying drawings and hereinafterdescribed, the particular subjectmatter claimed as novel beinghereinafter definitely specified.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation ofwire-feeding mechanism conveniently embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is atop plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of theapparatus shown in Figs. land 2. Fig. aisatransverse vertical sectionalelevational view of the mechanism, section being supposed on the dottedline 4: 4 of Figs. 1 and 2 and sight being taken in the direction of thearrows applied to said line. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are top plan views of thelower portion of the body of the carriage, the upper part being supposedremoved, exhibiting the arrangement of the follower, the trigger, andthe anvil jaws, the figures illustrating, respectively, three distinctpositions of said devices.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In the accompanying drawings, Aindicates the main frame of the machine,upon which the entire mechanism connected with the formation from wireof an article of commerce may be supposed assembled. That portion of theframework upon which the wire-feeding mechanism is mounted is, however,alone illustrated.

B indicates a way mounted upon the top of the main frame, said way beinglaterally undercut, as shown especially in Figs. 3 and 4.

O is the wire operated upon by the feeding mechanism.

D is the carriage, the same consisting of a block, formed in two parts,an upper to and a lower b, bolted together, resting upon the way B, andhaving depending sides which fit beneath the undercut portions of saidway with the'result that the carriage is free for longitudinalreciprocation relatively to said way, but is secured against lateral orvertical movement.

The carriage D is provided with a series, three being shown, ofupwardly-extending lugs d d 01 the lug d being at the front end, the lugd being at the rear end, and the lug d being intermediate of the lengthof the carriage D. The lugs embody apertures in axial alinement whichserve as bearings for a shaft E, mounted in said apertures. The shaft Eembodies a threaded area 6 between the lugs 6% c2, and athreaded area 6between the lugs c f is a split nut mounted upon the threaded area e.

f is a split nut mounted upon the threaded area e.

g is a strong spiral spring mounted on the shaft E and bearing,respectively, against the nutf and the lug d.

g is a strong spiral spring mounted on the shaft E and bearing,respectively, against the nut f and said lug cl".

h h are a pair of tappets mounted on the shaft E between the nut f andthe lug 61 said tappets being each provided with a depending fin.

ISO

z' is a squared channel formed in the lower face of the upper part a ofthe carriage D and extending beneath and in parallelism with the shaftE. I is a follower mounted in said channel, provided with a stud i whichextends upwardly through a suitable slot formed in the body of thecarriage of such length as to allow of slight reciprocatory movement ofsaid follower, and is loosely engaged between the fins of the tappets hh, and one side of which follower, being the lower side in Figs. 2, 5,6, and 7, is cut away in the region of its front end, forming a shoulderz" and a side face '5 in a different plane than the lower side face 2'of the body of said follower.

J, Figs. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7, is atrigger, pivotally mounted upon theframework of the carriage D, the head j of which extends through aslot-opening into the channel 't' and into contact with the lower edge,as I term it, of the follower I, in the region of the shoulder 11,formed on said follower, as described.

K is a movable anvil-jaw extending transversely of the carriage in whichit is mounted in a suitable channel or way, formed in the lower face ofthe upper part a'of the same, one end of which jaw opposes the rear endof'the pivoted trigger J and the other end of which opposes a fixedanvil-jaw L, mounted in the carriage.

The movable anvil-jaw K, which is adapted for slight movement ofreciprocation transversely with respect to the carriage, is providedwith an offset 7c in which is mounted a small headed shaft on which isseated a filling-block 70 connected with an operatinghandle 70 A spiralspring 70 seated upon said small headed shaft 70 and operating,respectively, against its head and said fillingblock, maintains saidfilling-block constantly in contact with the outer end of the movableanvil-jaw, with the result that said fillingblock normally acts as acontinuation of or an integral part of the said movable anviljaw, and,seated or located upon the outer end of said movable jaw, receives thethrust or impact of the rear end of the triggerJ. A set-screwj ismounted in the rear end of said trigger. The said set-screw j in theoperation of the parts, serves as the acting face of the said trigger,through which the movement of the trigger is transmitted to the movableanvil-jaw, the arrangement being designed to enable, by manipulation ofsaid set-screw, adjustment of the contact of the movable anvil-jaw andthe trigger.

M is a flat spring, one end of which is secured to the carriage and theother end of which is entered in a small recess m, formed in the movableanvil-jaw for its reception.

N N are a pair of uprights mounted at or beyond the respective ends ofthe way B and provided, respectively, with set-screws n n.

O is a rock-arm pivotally mounted upon a suitable bracket 0, secured tothe framework of the machine, and the upper end of which is connected bya link P with the front end of the shaft E.

Q is a face-plate or disk mounted upon a power-shaft R and provided witha pitman S, through which it communicates oscillatory movement to therock-arm O.

The operation of the machine described will be readily understood. Thesprings g g are quite heavy and strong and in the oscillatory movementof the rock-arm the carriage D and the shaft E normally move as oneintegral body without effecting any change in the re lationship of theparts until the end of the stroke is nearly reached. Assuming the partsin the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in which position the carriageis assumed to have just delivered a length of wire to the shaping orforming instrumentalities, and is moving to the front of the machine, asindicated by the upper arrow in Fig. 1, to take a fresh hold upon thewire, it will be seen that the head of the trigger has reached a pointopposite the depressed side i in the lower edge of the follower, andthat therefore the spring M has acted to force the movable anvil-jaw outof contact with the fixed anvil-jaw, and tilted the trigger on its pivotto carry the head of the trigger down the shoulder i and into con tactwith the depressed surface i of the follower, with the result that inthe travel of the carriage the anvil-jaws pass along the opposite sidesof the wire without taking hold thereof. When the movement of thecarriage to the left, Figs. 1 and 2, has progressed until said carriageencounters the set-screw n, which encounter is timed to take place justbefore the rock-arm reaches the end of its outward stroke, the advanceof the carriage and its lu gs will instantly cease, but the slightcontinued advance of the rock-arm 0 will occasion the slight continuedoutward or forward movement of the shaft E (compressing the spring g")until the said rock-arm 0,

reaches the end of its stroke. In the movement of the shaft E after thestoppage of the carriage, the tappet it acts, through its contact withthe lug i of the follower I, to advance said follower slightly, therebyforcing the incline or shoulder t, formed'in the lower edge of thefollower, beneath or against the head of the, trigger, with the resultthat the trigger will be tilted upon its pivot and drive or force themovable anvil-jaw against the fixed anvil-jaw, thereby looking orsecuring the wire between said anvil-jaws. As, in the continued rotationof the face-plate Q, the rock-arm 0 begins its return movement, thefirst. part of the inward movement of the shaft E is taken up by thespring g, which expands to its normal set or position, but does notaffect the relationship of the follower to the trigger by reason of thefact that the distance between the fins of the tappets is slightly inexcess of the thickness of the stud of said follower, and as soon as theequilibrium of the springs g g is restored, the carriage, with theanvil-jaws clamped upon the wire, moves to the right, Figs. 1 and 2,carrying the wire inward with it. Just before the rock-arm 0 comes tothe end of its inward stroke the carriage encounters the set-screw n andcomes to rest, and the rock-shaft, in completing its inward movement,occasions a further slight inward movement of the shaft E, compressingthe spring g, and in such continued inward movement the tappet h, whichis then in contact with the stud of the follower, occasions a slightinward movement of the follower with relation to the body of thecarriage, carrying the elevated face 2' of the follower from beneath thehead of the trigger, with the result that the pressure of the rear endof said trigger upon the movable anvil-jaw ceases, and the spring Mimmediately carries said movable anvil-j aw away from the fixed anviljaw, releasing the wire.

The movements of the parts described continue in the manner set forthduring the operation of the machine.

The movements of the trigger on its pivot and of the movable anvil-jawtransversely of the machine are of course slight, slight movement onlyof said movable anvil-jaw being necessary to clamp and release the wire.

\Vhen it is desired to have the wire-feed mechanism run idly and withoutfeeding the wire forward, as for instance, when the wireforminginstrumentalities are to be adjusted, or for any other reason, thehandle may be manually thrown to carry the filling-block la out frombeneath the acting face of the trigger (constituted by the set-screw asdescribed) and the adjacent region of the end of the movable anvil-jaw,whereupon the slight movement imparted to the trigger will not besufficient to carry it close enough to said movable anvil-jaw tooccasion a clamping action upon the wire, and the trigger becomes idle,as shown in Fig. 7.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination, in awire-feed mechanism, of a movable carriage, an anvil-jaw, a movableanvil jaw, a device mounted on said carriage and adapted forlongitudinal movement independently of said carriage, against the stressof springs, means for imparting movement to said device and through itto the carriage, stops which limit the movement of the carriage, andmechanism connective of said device and the movable anvil-j aw,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in a wire-feed mechanism, of a movable carriage, ananvil-jaw, a movable anvil-jaw, a shaft mounted on said carriage andadapted for movement independently of said carriage, against the stressof springs, means for imparting reciprocation to said shaft, stops whichlimit the movement of said carriage, a follower mounted in saidcarriage, a connection between said follower and said shaft, and atrigger through which movement of the follower is transmitted to themovable anvil-jaw, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in a wire-feed mechanism, of a movable carriage, ananvil-jaw, a movable anvil-jaw, a shaft mounted on said carriage andadapted for movement independently of said carriage, against the stressof springs, means for imparting reciprocation to said shaft, stops whichlimit the movement of said carriage, mechanism connective of said shaftand the movable anvil-jaw, a follower mounted in said carriage andequipped with a shoulder a connection between said follower and saidshaft, and a trigger through which movement of the follower istransmitted to the movable jaw, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, in a wire-feed mechanism, of a movable carriage, ananvil-jaw, a movable anvil-jaw, a shaft mounted on said carriage andadapted for movement independently of said carriage, against the stressof springs, means for imparting reciprocation to said shaft, stops whichlimit the movement of said carriage, mechanism connective of said shaftand the movable anvil-jaw, a follower provided with a shoulder mountedin said carriage, a connection between said follower and said shaft, anda trigger in contact with the follower and adapted to make contact withthe movable anvil-jaw, substantially as set forth.

5. In a wire-feed mechanism, the following elements in combination: themovable earriage, the anvil-jaw, the movable anvil-jaw, the trigger, thefollower, the shaft mounted in said carriage, the springs which controlsaid shaft, means for imparting reciprocation to said shaft, a looseconnection between said shaft and the follower, and stops which limitthe movement of the carriage,so that its travel is shorter than thetravel of the shaft, substantially as set forth.

6. In a wire-feed mechanism, the following elements in combination themovable carriage, the anvil-jaw, the movable anvil-jaw, the springengaged with said movable anviljaw, the trigger adapted to make contactwith said movable anvil-jaw, the follower having a side formed withsurfaces or edges in different planes, the shaft mounted in thecarriage, means for imparting reciprocation to said shaft, a looseconnection between said shaft and follower, and stops which limit themovement of the carriage, so that its travel is shorter than the travelof the shaft, substantially as set forth.

7. In a wire-feed'mechanism, the following elements in combination: theway, the carriage, the fixed anvil-jaw, the movable anviljaw, a followerhaving a stud or projection and formed with a side having surfaces indifferent planes, a pivoted trigger one end of which is adapted to makecontact with said follower and the other adapted to make contact withthe movable anvil-jaw, a shaft mounted in said carriage, springs which0on IIO trol the shaft, devices mounted on said shaft to loosely engagethe stud of the follower, means for imparting reciprocation to theshaft, and stops which limit the movement of the carriage so that itstravel is less than the travel of the shaft, substantially as set forth.

8. In a wire-feed mechanism, the following elements in combination: themovable carriage, the fixed anvil-j aw, the movable anviljaw, a springengaged in said movable anviljaw, a follower formed with a side havingsurfaces in different planes, a pivoted trigger one end of which isadapted to make contact with said follower, and the other adapted tomake contact with the movable anvil-jaw, a shaft mounted in saidcarriage, springs which control the shaft, devices to loosely connectthe shaft to the follower, means for imparting reciprocation to theshaft, and stops which limit the movement of the carriage, substantiallyas set forth.

9. In a wire-feed mechanism, the following elements in combination: thecarriage, the fixed anviljaw, the movable anvil-j aw, a spring engagedin said movable anvil-jaw, a follower formed with a side having surfacesin dilferent planes, and having an upwardlyprojecting stud, a pivotedtrigger one end of which is adapted to make contact with said followerand the other adapted to make contact with the movable jaw, a shaftmounted in bearings formed in lugs on said carriage, springs mounted onsaid shaft and bearing against a lug and against nuts mounted on saidshaft, a pair of tappets mounted on said shaft and provided with finswhich depend on opposite sides of the stud of the follower, means forimparting reciprocation to the shaft, and stops which limit the movementof the carriage, substantially as set forth.

10. In awire-feed mechanism,the following elements in combination: thecarriage, the fixed anviljaw, the movable anvil-jaw, a trigger having alimited pivotal movement and one end of which is adapted to make contactwith said movable jaw to force it toward the fixed jaw, means foractuating said trigger, a spring engaged with said movable jaw andtending to force it away from said fixed jaw, and a filling-blockmounted on said movable jaw to receive the impact of the trigger, andadapted to be moved out of range of the trigger, substantially as setforth.

11. In awire-feed mechanism,the following elements in combination: thecarriage, the fixed anvil-jaw, the movable anvil-jaw, a trigger having alimited pivotal movement, and one end of which is adapted to makecontact with the outer end of said movable jaw to force it toward thefixed jaw, means for actuating said trigger, a spring engaged with saidmovable jaw and tending to force it away from said fixed jaw, a stud orshaft mounted on the movable jaw, and a filling-block pivotally mountedon said stud or shaft and adapted to be swung on said stud or shaft to aposition on the end of the movable jaw, to receive the impact of thetrigger and to increase the length of said movable jaw, substantially asset forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myinvention I have hereuntosigned my name this 13th day of March, A. D. 1896.

JOHN WVM. GRANGER.

In presence of J. BONSALL TAYLOR, A. E. PAIGE.

